According to the latest report, U.S. electric truck maker Nikola’s chief financial officer, Kim Brady, said on Thursday that the company is evaluating options and aims to make its own battery packs by 2024. Currently, Nikola uses batteries from LG Energy Solutions. In January this year, Nikola signed a battery supply agreement with Proterra, an American auto, and energy storage company.
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Brady reiterated the company’s goal of producing 300 to 500 Tre battery-electric trucks this year but said supply chain congestion remains an issue. Brady said Nikola’s goal is to localize parts purchases as locally as possible in North America, where most of the company’s parts currently come from Europe.
Nikola was once considered the biggest scam in the U.S. auto industry, focusing on the development of new energy heavy-duty trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells and batteries. In November 2018, Nikola challenged Tesla to launch its own new energy semi-trailer.
Moreover, Nikola went public on Nasdaq in June 2020 at a valuation of $12 billion and raised $700 million. At that time, Nikola’s founder, Trevor Milton, announced that he was accepting reservations for his pickup model, the Badger. The Badger is loaded with hydrogen fuel and a battery pack and has a range of 960 kilometers.
In September 2020, Nikola entered into a subscription agreement with GM, pursuant to which Nikola agreed to issue and sell 47,698,545 shares to GM for an overall consideration of $2 billion.
But at this juncture, short-seller Hindenburg Research issued a scathing report on Nikola and its founder Milton: “We have never seen a scam of this magnitude in a public company.” Hindenburg alleges that Milton grossly exaggerated the company’s technological capabilities and lied to investors. Further research has since yielded solid evidence suggesting that Nikola’s shares may be worth zero.
After the pressure of public opinion brought about by “fake” and lawsuits from investors, Milton “resigned”. Since then, General Motors canceled its stake in Nikola, and Bosch reduced its stake and ran away with large orders. The U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation, and Milton was also indicted on fraud charges.
In December 2021, the SEC charged Nikola with violating U.S. securities laws by making numerous misleading statements about the company’s products and future financial prospects in 2020. “All of these actions falsely portray the true state of the company’s business and technology. This misconduct and the harm it caused retail investors deserve a strong remedy in today’s settlement.”
Ultimately, Nikola agreed to pay $125 million to settle allegations that it misled investors about its products and technological achievements.
